


find your way back

by emmerrr



Series: underneath it all [3]
Category: Dreamer Trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: F/M, a little sad but it's fine, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26516791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: He found her by the water. Always by the water.
Relationships: Jordan/Declan Lynch
Series: underneath it all [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928041
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	find your way back

For someone who didn’t really give a shit about Great Falls Park, Declan was infinitely familiar with the place. 

He’d been there more times than he could count, either with Matthew, or alone to _find_ Matthew. He’d dropped money on a goddamn annual pass that he didn’t want.

This time, however, he wasn’t here for Matthew.

He’d woken earlier than he’d have liked, alone, the other side of his bed cold. There was no note, nothing to tell him where Jordan had gone, or when. The pillow still smelled like her; vaguely flowery, and something else he couldn’t name. Hours ago, she’d laid there, laughing, teasing Declan in the warm way she did, her fingers lightly trailing across his skin.

Now, there was nothing but empty space and crumpled sheets.

Declan had conducted a brief and perfunctory search of his townhouse, confirming that Matthew was still there (snoring, noisily), and that Jordan decidedly was not. He tried calling her, once, but it went straight to voicemail.

He left her a message, just in case. “I’m coming to find you. I won’t be long.”

They were no longer in a place where Jordan would sneak off in the dead of night and dodge his calls. If she was gone without a word, it was because there was some giant chasm calling to her, the likes of which Declan could never understand. But at least he knew where to look.

He found her by the water. Always by the water.

Jordan was sitting quietly, her knees pulled tight to her chest. It was cold in the early morning air, and Declan took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before sitting down beside her.

She didn’t look at him or say anything, but Declan could tell she knew he was there. He followed her gaze so that he, too, was looking out across the rushing water.

It was beautiful, but he was immune to it by now. Desensitised thanks to countless visits. It was a place of worry for him now; of dread, even though Matthew was safe at home asleep, and Jordan was next to him, awake and alive.

“Hey,” he said, and nudged his shoulder against hers lightly. Jordan half-smiled, a barely there thing.

“Hey,” she replied, but she still didn’t look away from the water. “I don’t really remember how I got here.”

“You drove,” Declan said, swallowing down the fear that statement sent through him. “I saw your car in the lot.”

“Ah,” she said lightly. “That explains it.”

Declan didn’t know that he’d ever understand what it was about this place that called to Jordan and Matthew sometimes, without warning or explanation. It was something huge and unnameable, or just something that someone as painfully human as Declan could never comprehend. Jordan would forever be searching for something that might forever put her out of Declan’s reach.

He watched her watch the water, wondering where she went when she wasn’t _here._

He put his arm around her, and tucked her into his side. He didn’t need to understand. He just needed her to know that she wasn’t alone.

Besides, it was too early in the day for an existential crisis.

“Hey,” he said, again, and kissed her high on her cheekbone. “Come back to me?”

It took her a moment, but soon she reached up and laced her fingers with Declan’s where his hand rested over her shoulder. She looked up at him, smiling, and turned her face into his neck.

“Always,” she said softly, and he believed her.


End file.
